Ultimate Force is a British television drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of the fictional Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The programme started on 16 September 2002 and four seasons were produced. Background
It was co-created by Chris Ryan, a former British SAS soldier who was a member of the famous Bravo Two Zero patrol during the 1991 Gulf War, with the show produced by Bentley Productions. As well as his behind the scenes role, Ryan appeared as a SAS soldier in the first series of the show playing Blue Troop leader Johnny Bell.
The show features British television star Ross Kemp as its central character, the hard-boiled Staff Sergeant Henry 'Henno' Garvie.[1] The show was a star vehicle for Kemp, who had been lured away from the BBC to ITV with a multi-million pound contract. Kemp appeared in every episode of the four series.
Domestically, the change of format seemed to produce diminishing returns for ITV; series three was abruptly taken off air by the network midway through the run, only to return a few weeks later. The show was then moved to Saturday night[4] at 9 pm. A similar fate awaited series four, which was pulled after just two episodes. The three remaining episodes of series 4 were not originally shown on ITV, but shown on ITV4, in January and February 2007. The main ITV network showed the remaining three episodes of the series over a year later, starting on 18 May 2008 at 9pm, and finishing on 1 June 2008. A DVD of the fourth series was released on 25 September 2006 in the UK.
ITV then announced there would not be a fifth series, partially due to low ratings - hence the cutting of series three and four midway through their runs - whilst many of the stars moved onto other projects. Ross Kemp went on to host a series of documentaries following the progress of British Army troops in Afghanistan, whilst both Sam Callis and Christopher Fox joined ITV's police serial drama The Bill.
Cast
Only two characters survived all 4 series of the program, Staff Sergeant Garvie and Colonel Dempsey. Garvie is only character to appear in every episode. After this the third longest running character is Corporal Louis Hoffman, who first appears in Series 1 Ep 3 passing the selection course. He then became a main member of Red Troop from the start of Series 2 onwards. In series 1 and 2 the core of the cast remained relatively stable, with only a small number of changes. However between Series 2 and 3, a major change in the cast occurred. Of the main 6 members of Red Troop at the end of Series 2, only Garvie and Hoffman returned for Series 3. Jamie Dow, Pete Twamley and Ricky Mann are all killed off at the start of Series 3. Disguised body doubles are used for the death scenes, as the actors did not return for the series. Captain Caroline Walshe also does not return for Series 3, with Dempsey saying he reassigned her after the deaths. This meant an influx of new characters at the start of Series 3, which again remains largely stable for the reminder of the shows run.
